VEMMETOFTE KLOSTER
and
TRADITIONS of the KLOSTER

The earliest history of Vemmetofte....

Once upon a time. Thus begin all good, old fairy tales - also the fairy tale
about Vemmetofte.

In the early Viking Age, a man called Wærmund drew attention to himself among the
farmers that settled in Stevns, where they cleared the fields and built homes. The name
Vemmetofte means literally Wærmund's fenced area.

The first simple farms developed into manor farms and in the middle ages, Vemmetofte
was strongly fortified by a circular wall, two moats and drawbridges. This was necessary
because of the numerous raids by the Wends and the internal strife in Denmark. The only
remains of that old castle are two vaulted cellars with four and eight intersecting vaults
respectively.

For many years, Vemmetofte was a home for the nobility, owned by members of the most
distinguished lineage in Denmark. For over 250 years it was owned by the Brok family from
Gammel Estrup, with the court advisor Eske Brok (died 1625) being one of the most well
known, pleasant characters. In 1694 the manor estate was bought by Christian V's queen,
Charlotte Amalie, as part of a large buying up of estates in the area. The Queen
considered establishing a cloister for noblemen's daughters at Vemmetofte, but she died in
1714 before the plan could be realized.

Her son Prince Carl inherited Vemmetofte and Højstrup, he immediately began rebuilding
the greatly neglected manor farm. Prince Carl can be regarded as the creator of the
present Vemmetofte. Not only because he rebuilt the manor farm itself, but also because he
erected the surrounding buildings - the so called "hamlet" along the present
Vemmetoftevej, the large cattle house in the barnyard, stables, timbered houses for the
tenant farmers and other employees, bridges over the moats as well as establishing a
garden.

It took nine years to complete all these projects and from then on, in place of the old
manor, a distinguished, four-winged baroque manor emerged.

Prince Carl

Princess Sophie Hedevig

In 1721 the brother Frederik IV promoted his morganatic wife, Anna Sofie Reventlow, to
queen. Prince Carl and his sister, Sophie Hedevig showed their disapproval by turning
their backs on the court in the capital and take up permanent residence in Vemmetofte.
They died in, respectively, 1729 and 1735, but before Sophie Hedevig died, she had drawn
up detailed plans for establishing a cloister for noblemen's daughters. Vemmetofte
Cloister for Noblemen's Daughters was founded on 10th June 1735.

Vemmetofte as a cloister...

The leadership of the cloister was, according to the regulations, delegated
to two trustees, in co-operation with the prioress, and the cloister's first trustee
became the brother and sister's chamberlain, Carl Adolf von Plessen. Only thanks to his
enormous involvement and self-sacrifice, the cloister survived the first economically
difficult years. The number of residents at the cloister varied, but it was eventually
fixed at eleven.

Prince Carl and Princess Sofie Hedevig had been deeply moved by the pietistic currents
of that time. Because of this, the need for charity was realized through the foundation of
schools and through charity shown to the orphans, old people, the sick and the poor.

The foundation is also characterized by these intentions. With the introduction of
absolute monarchy, the power and influence of the nobles was reduced, and a fitting
provision for the nobles' unmarried daughters became a problem. The charity from the
different cloisters helped to solve this. This was the cloister's chief purpose, but
charity to those who were badly off continued to be important.

In 1976, the former noble's manor, the royal castle, and the cloister for nobles'
daughters started a new phase of its existence. The name was changed to Vemmetofte
Cloister. Admission requirements were changed radically and with thorough alterations, a
framework was created for, so to speak, ordinary citizens to be able to experience a life
similar to the conditions in a commune. At the same time the charitable and humane goals
that the cloister has always stood for, continued to be honored. Single people as well as
couples can start a new chapter of their lives in security and live in inspiring and
beautiful surroundings both inside and out.

The Cloister Church...

Vemmetofte's church was originally a servants' hall, but in 1630 it was converted to a
chapel for the present master and mistress: Tyge Brahe and Berete Brok. It is not a large
room, but it is well proportioned with intersecting vaulting on two square piers.

The beautiful pulpit has been preserved from Tyge Brahe's time. It is late
renaissance, but there are elegant baroque carvings in the decoration. The archway squares
are decorated with pictures of the four evangelists. The coats of arms of the Brahe,
Hardenberg and Viffert families can be found on the old seat boxes. From the time when it
was a public room, built into the east side, there is a very narrow and steep hidden
staircase that has led up to Fruerstuen on the first floor.

The remaining church
equipment originates essentially from Prince Carl. Of these a richly carved baptism table,
a Judgment Day altarpiece in a gilded, carved framework, carved by Jacob Roege.

What gives the room its special character is, however, a collection of paintings by the
court artist Henrik Krock. The collection, which shows the Passion of Jesus, was
originally placed in the prayer room in Prince Carl's castle "Blågård" near
Copenhagen, but it fits in perfectly with the intimate atmosphere of the church.

From 1735 there were two priests - a Danish- and a German-speaking priest! The most
well-known of the cloister's priests through the ages, is probably the poet Christian
Richardt. Today, Vemmetofte functions as a normal parish
church.

A walk in the
Cloister gardens and surroundings...

Vemmetofte lies an hour's drive from Copenhagen. The roads become narrower and narrower
as the journey to Vemmetofte progresses- but they also become more beautiful. With the
cloister on the left-hand side, drive through Vemmetofte to the central car park. There is
free admission to the cloister gardens between 8.00 to 16.00.

The garden is not
large, but one can still feel the atmosphere of the old manor farm. Walk down the 300-
year-old Lime tree avenue past the thatched tea house, visit the ice house (for food
storage) just outside the fence - catch a glimpse of the carp in the cloister moat -
follow the winding Kilde stream - look at the garden - or take a walk in Dyrehaven to the
beautifully situated churchyard, where Princess Sophie Hedevig had her garden with
peacocks.

The cloister is the natural meeting place for a town, but one searches in vain for a
village with farms. It was there once, but in 1696 Queen Charlotte Amalie received
permission to close down the thirteen farms and the same fate befell eight farms under
Prince Carl Snekkelstrup in 1717. In return, the cloister raised several new buildings to
cater for special requirements and have still preserved the old names corresponding to
their trade: The carpenter's house - the cooper's house - the bakery - the cantor's house
- the pharmacy etc.

With the relief scheme for the poor from 1708, it was established that under even the
poorest circumstances, no children should be hindered from going to school. Inspired by
this, Prince Carl built a school in Lund in 1719. Shortly after this, he established five
more. One in Store Torøje, can still be found. This school is Denmark's oldest preserved
country school.

Around Vemmetofte village is Vemmetofte manor farm's land,
with 800 hectares of highly productive arable farming.

The surrounding forests invite you to take a walk. The area of Vemmetofte Cloister's
forest is approximately 1400 hectares and it is important to combine productive forestry
with beautiful surroundings. Dyrehaven lies north and east of the cloister with its
mighty, ancient oak trees. Both here and in Vesterskov, west of the cloister, as well as
Strandskoven along Faxe Bay, one can find not only extensive beech and oak forests, but
also great variations of nature in the fruitful soil. There are old and young plantations,
woodland areas, bogs, and grazing meadows.

The walk can end, possibly, at Vemmetofte Beach, where there is a camping site and a restaurant. On a lovely summers day you must
not cheat yourself of the sandy beach with clean water that is perfect for children.

The beach also offers fairy tales about trolls. On the beach lies a large stone, which
is called Mussestenen (the Mouse Stone). A legend tells that the Norwegian
"Dovregubbe" wanted his son to marry the cliff king's daughter. When the king of
the cliff opposed it, Dovregubben became so angry that he broke a piece of the mountain
off and hurled it over to kill the king. Whether he killed the king or not - the stone
fell down onto Vemmetofte beach. Another legend tells, however, that a female troll once
became angry with the Vemmetofte residents. She took a large stone, put it in her garter
and slung it from Møn's Cliff over towards the building - but luckily it didn't hit. The
stone fell on the beach and lies there still.